Connecticut and Notre Dame meet Wednesday in what will be the 57th game between the AP No. 1 and No. 2 teams in women's basketball. It is UConn’s 23rd appearance in an AP top-two matchup, breaking a tie with Tennessee for the most all time.
Connecticut and Notre Dame have met four times as the top two teams in the AP poll, with UConn holding a 3-1 advantage in those games.
The Huskies carry an 82-game winning streak into South Bend, the third-longest win streak in Division I men’s and women’s basketball history. In 1974, the No. 2 Notre Dame men snapped No. 1 UCLA’s 88-game winning streak at home, ending the longest streak in men’s Division I history.
Huskies back at No. 1
Connecticut has played in 22 of the previous 56 games (39 percent) between the AP top-two teams. Including Wednesday, UConn’s 23 appearances in a top-two matchup are the most by any team.
Wednesday marks the fifth time that the Huskies and the Fighting Irish have met as the top two teams but the first in the regular season. It is the second-most-played 1–vs.-2 matchup in women's college basketball. No team has defeated UConn twice in a 1-vs.-2 game.
The Huskies jumped Notre Dame for the No. 1 rank in the latest AP Top 25. Notre Dame scored 114 points in its most recent game, fourth most in school history. Meanwhile, the Huskies are coming off an 18-point win over Texas, their 129th victory in their last 130 games. All but one of Connecticut’s wins in that span were by double digits.
A top-two rivalry
March 6, 2001: Sue Bird lifts Huskies to victory
Connecticut and Notre Dame met in the Big East tournament championship game. UConn freshman Diana Taurasi fouled out, but Sue Bird led the Huskies to a 78-76 win, scoring the game's last five points, including a buzzer-beater over national player of the year Ruth Riley to cap the Huskies' victory.
March 30, 2001: Irish get revenge in Final Four
The teams met in a rematch of the Big East title game just a few weeks later. The Huskies took an early 15-point lead, but the Irish stormed back on the way to a 90-75 win that set the stage for their national championship.
April 8, 2014: Huskies rout Irish as Geno earns ninth national title
Notre Dame and UConn became the first pair of undefeated teams to play for the national championship. Breanna Stewart scored 21 points to lead the Huskies to a dominant 79-58 victory. The win earned Geno Auriemma his record ninth national title, breaking a tie with Pat Summitt for the most in women’s Division I history.
April 7, 2015: UConn three-peats, beating Notre Dame 63-53 in title game
Geno Auriemma tied John Wooden with his 10th NCAA tournament title as the Huskies rolled to their third straight championship. Breanna Stewart added 15 rebounds on her way to being named most outstanding player of the Final Four for the third straight year.
This will be the 13th straight meeting between UConn and Notre Dame with both teams ranked in the AP top five.
Regardless of rank, the Irish have lost five straight to Connecticut, a streak that began in the 2013 Final Four. Before that, the Irish had won four straight meetings against Connecticut, including a road win on Jan. 5, 2013, with UConn as the top-ranked team.